


Shostakovich Waltz

by WarriorOmen



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: But it's sweet, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Hannibal is still kind of a bastard., M/M, Romance, Smug Hannibal, That doesn't stop Hannibal, Will doesn't know how to dance, opera - Freeform, sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-27
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-21 12:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/900138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorOmen/pseuds/WarriorOmen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal finally convinces Will to attend the opera with him. What Will didn't count on was the after show dance and banquet. Nor did he expect Hannibal to drag him onto the dance floor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shostakovich Waltz

**Author's Note:**

> You can blame this entire fic on Bryan Fuller for saying we get Hannibal dancing in Season Two,and me unable to get the image out of my head. The title “Shostakovich Waltz' is a play on the song Hannibal and Will dance too 'Waltz No.2' by Dmitri Shostakovich. I have previously used this song in my other fic 'The World on a Platter' but, I thought it'd be nice for them to dance too here. 
> 
> As Always, Enjoy! 
> 
> Also,if you're the kind of person who likes to listen to the music being referenced,to add to the atmosphere,then just see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmCnQDUSO4I

The doors of the massive,richly decorated theatre of the Baltimore Opera House opened well before Will was ready,fighting the urge to tug on his bow tie and rip the ridiculous,oxygen depriving silk from his neck, spin on his heel and evacuate the premises as soon as he possibly could.

“Wouldn't Alana have been a better companion for this?” Will asked,voice low as he shifted uncomfortably from side to side, new dress shoes a bit to tight on his feet. 

Hannibal smiled gently,grazing his hand against Will's left elbow, all but holding the Special Agent to keep him from fleeing. 

“I believe that you are wonderful company,and I thank you for coming with me, Will” Hannibal replied smoothly,nudging him forward slightly as the line continued to move, getting them closer and closer to the gold tinged doorways. 

Will swallowed the apprehension bubbling at the back of his throat in some mockery of a cough. “I really don't belong here..' he muttered,eye balling the glittering diamonds swathing the neck of prim elderly lady standing in front of him.

Times like these were where Will felt his background like a second skin, a sore that anyone with in a ten mile radius could see. It was bad enough that Hannibal had paid for the tuxedo he currently wore. Will had tried to convince him to allow him the decency of a rental,but Hannibal would have non of it. Paying for a fully tailored tuxedo that cost more than Will's life insurance premiums.

“Why do you feel that you don't belong here any more than those around you,Will?” Hannibal asked, helping to guide him to the ticket taker with that large,warm hand still enclosed upon his elbow.

Will shot him a glare from the corner of his eye,handing the long white ticket to the taker and waiting for him to rip the bottom off. 

'You know why' Will hissed,taking his paper back, completely ignoring the courteous message to enjoy the show. 'All these..society folks. Hardly a place for a man from the boat yards of Louisiana. What will your..acquaintances think?”

The moody, desperate tone was met with a chuckle,a wide hand gesturing towards the crowd. “Do you see anyone paying you the slightest bit of extra attention,Will?”

He did. He saw eyes on Hannibal, looking the doctor up and down before they would dart towards Will, narrowing a little as if trying to decide where in the high circles they might have seen the curly haired Agent before. Only to let out little sighs at the lack of recognition before turning back to their own partners or conversations.

'I do' Will half pouted, sinking down gratefully into his plush seat of red velvet,waiting for Hannibal to follow the motion. 'You must be oblivious to the attention you draw, Dr Lecter”

“It is not so much oblivion dear Will as it is an active, conscious choice to ignore the prying eyes and enjoy myself. I'm quite used to being under scrutiny and awe”

Will sighed,leaning back in his seat. Of course,Hannibal was used to such things. Hell, Will would even hazard to say he enjoyed it. The thought did very little to reassure him. 

But as the lights dimmed,blackening the audience and boxes,there was a large,comforting hand placed upon his knee that squeezed firmly when Will inhaled sharply, slowly exhaling through his nose. Relaxed by the touch and the darkness, he allowed himself to settle in and enjoy the show.

~~

Too his surprise, the experience was rather enjoyable. The orchestra was performing Shostakovich, a slightly controversial Soviet Russian composer from the Second World War. His music was lively and the performance enraptured Will.

Sometime during the Second Act, Will felt as though he were transcending to another plane of existence A strange sort of heightened calm where the spirit briefly exits the body and roams freely among the atmosphere. Taking in the dazed expressions of those around him enjoying the music,the notes rippling over his skin,raising goose flesh and making him tingle pleasantly.

Hannibal must've noticed,because his own glassy expression met Will's for a brief second, the hand that had never left his knee squeezing once before his gaze returned to the golden glow of the stage.

When it ended and light returned once more, Will felt his spirit return, sinking back into his flesh with a little shudder, he smiled in spite of himself. Relaxed by the near meditative state he'd been put into. 

'Lovely, was it not?” Hannibal asked, letting his hand slide back to Will's elbow as they made their way from the theatre and into another room, this one lined with tables, surrounding a dance floor that was bathed in a beautiful candle like glow. 

'It was' Will agreed, allowing himself to be lead to what he assumed was a table, only to tense again when he realized Hannibal was leading him to the oak based floor.

The dance floor. 

Will glanced at Hannibal with abject horror, the fingers tight upon his elbow, nearly digging into his flesh even through the black silk.

'Someone you need to talk to,Hannibal?” He asked,fighting to keep the slight squeak from his voice. Eyes darting to where the back wall had slid open at the side,revealing the orchestra once more.

Hannibal smiled, left arm sliding about Will's waist. 'Of course not. It is customary for this Opera House to hold a dance for the patrons before settling in for the meal and drinks”

Will's eyes widened before he forced them back down,not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself then he was already sure he was going to be in the next few moments. “That's lovely,but why must we be one of the dancers? There's lots of other people just sitting at tables and-”

“Hannibal!' A slightly shrill voice interrupted, Will turning to see a woman with short black hair and clad in a bright sapphire dress beelining for the two of them. Any attempt he made to extract himself from Hannibal's grasp was cut off by the former tightening his arm about Will's waist. Keeping him prone and nearly against his chest. 

A blush forced it's way to Will's cheeks, he felt it's spread before he could contain himself,and he lacked the beard to keep it hidden. If only the floor could open him up and swallow him whole.

“Mrs Komeda' Hannibal greeted, free hand sliding against hers and bringing her knuckles to his lips for a chaste, polite kiss that made her smile lightly. 'Lovely too see you again, as always' Though Will detected a faint edge to his tone that he knew Mrs Komeda would be completely oblivious too. 

'You flatterer, it has been too long that you are absent from our dance floor. I trust you are going to rectify yourself tonight,yes?” 

Hannibal's smile was all teeth and little pleasure. “Of course. I've been lacking in a partner as of late,but I am pleased to say that it shall be different tonight. Please,enjoy yourself, Mrs Komeda' Will noticed that Hannibal hadn't even bothered to introduce him,which suited Will just fine.

Komeda never took any note of the others presence,instead shaking her head a little at Hannibal. 'You had better! I'll be watching,you know” before she slid off to rejoin her husband, whom was waiting near the middle of the dance floor a few feet away.

'Hannibal' Will muttered, leaning into the doctors neck as if that would present him with some coverage. “I.can't.dance”

“I know, which is why all you'll have to do is follow my lead' Hannibal reassured. “I think you'll enjoy yourself”

Will snorted gracelessly, trying to hide the blush that continued to crawl it's way up his neck and smooth out over his cheek's. “How could I possibly enjoy myself with every pair of eyes upon me,watching me trip over my own two feet,tarnishing the reputation of the wonderful,enigmatic, respected Dr Lecter?” his words a dull hiss against the fabric of Hannibal's collar. 'Not to mention were-”

“Two very good friends enjoying an evening together.' Hannibal finished, perfectly aware of the fact that they were going to draw attention. The thought excited him. Not that Will was aware of it. “The Waltz is one of the easiest dances, all you'll need to do is follow my lead”

Will started a rapid fire count down in his head. Fighting back the humiliation. Hannibal was leading, Hannibal was going to be guiding him across the floor like some society lady on a first date. 

“I can barely teach somedays because people are watching' he protested,feeling panicked. 'How do you expect me to to..” words trailed of as he searched Hannibal's eyes,his face for any sort of consultation,only to be met with gentle amusement.

'Will” Hannibal's head ducked down, breath hot against the top of his ear. Will shivered in spite of himself,eyes fluttering closed for a moment. 'Trust me. Can you do that?”

Could he? Will thought. In the dull haze of what had become his life. The terror,the confusion. Lost time and lost identity, there had always been one thing that he could fall back on. One thing that he knew was solid, true and unwavering. A force that could be reckoned with and relied upon to drag him from the depths of his own insanity and bring him back to the surface. There for him regardless of the time,the situation or the duress. 

Slowly,nervously he whispered,head nodding with the motion. 

“Yes”

“Then trust me, Will”

Will would. Because he knew that he could. Knew that no matter what, Hannibal would always be the one thing that he could rely on. There was no reason for this to be any different. 

Body trembling, he looked at Hannibal. “What uh..what do I..”

Hannibal smiled,patiently. 'Just put both of your hands on either of my shoulders' he instructed,bringing Will in closer to his body,savouring the faint colour that decorated his cheeks when he did so. “That's it,good”

When the conductor saw that everyone was in position,the orchestra keyed up,the first notes of Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2 starting up. 

Much to Will's horror,the first notes were quite fast,but Hannibal easily spun them in a couple of semi-circles, completing in a third full circle on the fourth note. His feet seemed to glide against the oak based flooring,bringing Will's with him with ease.

People moved around Will, voices whispering too loudly in the empath's ears. Skin burning hot.

“Look at me,Will” Hannibal's voice cut through the fog of the crowd, much louder than any of the hushed little tones being spoke as they continued to glide, Will's uncertain feet and steps all but unnoticed thanks to Hannibal's easy leading. Correcting the moves and preventing Will's amateur mistakes being made as the music began to speed up, forcing them to glide around two other couples and spin on a single foot each.

'Centre your mind, let the music run through you. Focus on my hands, my steps. There is nothing else here now,Will. Nothing at all.'

At first. Will was inclined to disagree. Mrs Komeda's eyes were burning a hole in the back of his curls, the whispers of seated patrons crawling down Will's ears,settling in his brain as they were suddenly forced to detach, Hannibal's guided one of Will's hands from his shoulder at the detachment,lacing his fingers with Will's,palms flat and hot as they spun around each other and then closed back in, a hand upon each other's lower backs, hands still clasped together as they moved upwards against the the floor,switched hands and arm position, and then moved back up once again, only to enclose in the same full bodied frontal position they'd had near the beginning of the song.

“That's it, Will,that's it. Ignore them. They can't hurt you. It's just eyes, just voices. You're doing so good, imagine that you are water, and the music is the stream, let it carry you,let it guide you”

Will did as he was told,and much to his amazement, the same meditative state he had experienced before while simply listening to the orchestra play started to seat itself in his body anew. Filling him, replacing the voices with a dull calm.

Up close, Will could smell the dull scent of Hannibal's cologne, something rich,expensive and very potent without being overpowering. The same fresh scent a newly opened bottle of wine might have. Count the lines upon his harshly chizzled face, the single flecks of grey that managed to decorate just the top of his hair, vanish in the swirling depths of his maroon coloured eyes. The calm, pleased expression that met him calming in it's warmth and light.

Maybe it was the effect of the lightning,Will didn't know,nor was he entirely inclined to find out. 

Hannibal's hands exerting a dull pressure. The two of them moving with ease now,gliding across the floor,utterly enraptured with one another as the music rained over them like falling petals from a cherry blossom tree. Decorating the two men who were,at this point,the only two dancers on the floor.

Will didn't seem to notice.

Hannibal did. It made him smile. Feeling powerful in the control he had,the sheer domination of the floor,of the opera house. They were all watching him, watching him with Will. Watching the glide of their bodies and the way Will vanished into his gaze. Though Hannibal wasn't entirely unaffected himself, finding it nice to glance into Will's stormy teal eyes and see nothing but a relaxed calm there. 

Adoration. Contentment. Trusting Hannibal enough to allow for his spirit to be taken into the hands of the doctors. 

Bringing Will in closer, Hannibal moved him the two of them in time with the final closing notes, a spin to the left, a low dip to the right, bring up, back again. Flowing like a kite in the wind. 

Will was captivated. Ensnared by Hannibal,barely noticing as the song faded off into it's powerful ending, completely aware of the moment when Hannibal's finger worked it's way under his chin, bringing Will's mouth to his own and breathing into him. 

Will's own hand moved from Hannibal's shoulder to the back of his neck,eyes closing,he breathed back.

**Author's Note:**

> Dancing can be hard to put into paper. I firmly believe that there's a certain dreamy quality to watching dancing, especially this kind of..classical based dancing. Hopefully,I've not done too terrible a job of it here. Thanks for reading!


End file.
